ONU and JCU seem to have a challenging early schedule, facing lots of nationally and regionally ranked teams. Every year the OAC schedule gets upgraded. This year, the top teams look to have a strength of schedule that could stand up to any conference. Here's hoping they show well.

This is the most seasoned JCU team in years with lots of veteran depth. Some players are returning from injury as well. ONU also has a lot of veteran depth. Its my understanding that the Crusaders are getting back some injured stars as well.

I know its early, just thought I'd get the ball rolling.....

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"We talk about it for 20 minutes and then we decide I was right" - Brian Clough

The Crusaders face one of the toughest schedules in the OAC this year. In the first ten games they face five 2012 NCAA Tournament teams: Carnegie Melln, PSU-Behrend, Thomas More, Wittenberg and Ohio Northern all on the road! They also face a tough Hanover (13-4-2) team at home.

In terms of returning players Capital will have 2011 leading scorer, Hilary Ells and starting left back / captain Michelle Geiger back from pre-season injuries that led to them miss the entire 2012 season. They will also return Striker Holly Phillips who missed the entire OAC schedule after breaking her foot at Hanover last year. In theory the return of those players combined with the maturity of all the youngesters who played a great deal last year will give the Crusaders hope.

That being said, it wouldn't surprise me if any of the top 5 teams won the conference. As I've stated previously, the intra-conference play in the OAC is very competitive and it amazes me each year how close the games are among the top 5 squads.

My sleeper pick would be Marietta. Coach Blasius probably had the most talented team in recent years at JCU in 2011. They made it to the conference finals. Some questioned whether the coach's attention was fully on her team at that time. She returns now at Marietta, apparently ready to try and build a championship soccer program there. It wouldn't surprise me if that program rose in the next few years. They might sneak up on a few people this year.

So here is my thinking....I am grouping the top five into two categories. ONU were champs last year and they should remain good this year. After that, you have Capital and B-W. B-W was a big physical team that seemed to find their game until their school self-disciplined itself for some NCAA violations and took themselves out of any post-season tournaments. (BTW, whatever happened with that?) Capital is always good, and our friend Crusader Nation tells us that some red-shirted star players are returning. For me, its a toss-up as to the top three.

The next two are Otterbein and JCU. Otterbein was the dominant OAC team for many years, but fell off a few years ago after graduating a lot of seniors. They are maturing and came on at the end of 2012.

JCU has a great team too. They have the forward of the year, the (I.M.O.) best mid-fielder in the OAC and a great keeper. They have been plagued by injuries. If they can return their top defender, they may have a great season.

Anyone else want to prognosticate?

« Last Edit: August 20, 2013, 10:12:23 pm by woacfan »

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"We talk about it for 20 minutes and then we decide I was right" - Brian Clough

I agree with you that honestly anyone in the top fve I think can win the tournament, which is what matters with the AQ as Otterbein saw last year. However, in terms of the regular season I think it will be ONU or Otterbein. However, with NCAA appearances the past two years ONU has to be favored as the front runner.

As for BW according to some of the things coming from the atheltes and a couple staff members at BW the difficulty touched almost every program in terms of financial aid extra assistance handed out to student-athletes. Although those kids will still have that financial aid which surely gives BW an advantage with those recruiting classes, however it appears the school did enough to punsih everyone the NCAA should not really hand anything else down on the violation.

BW is good. I wasn't enamored with their style of play, but the refs seemed to let them get away with it. Don't know if they're as good when the guys with the whistles take them out of their pockets. I thought the game against your Crusaders last season was a travesty in that regard.

It looks to be a fun season...I'm looking forward to it!

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"We talk about it for 20 minutes and then we decide I was right" - Brian Clough

John Carroll had a rough start to their season today. They took a drubbing at the hands of a far superior Thomas More side. The first half wasn't terribly lopsided for the first half hour. Both played tentatively as temperatures on the artificial playing surface approached 100°. However, once the Saints netted their first goal it was a one sided affair. The Streaks were out hustled and their passing wasn't crisp at all. Hopefully, they get it straightened out because the schedule doesn't get easier.

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"We talk about it for 20 minutes and then we decide I was right" - Brian Clough

Looks like ONU, Capital and B-W had mixed results this weekend. Both B-W and Capital appear to have played well, but fell short against Carnegie-Melon. Perhaps someone who saw other OAC action this weekend could comment!

As for the Streaks, they better get a chip on their shoulder quickly or they are in for a long season. I always liked their grittiness, but didn't see much this weekend.

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"We talk about it for 20 minutes and then we decide I was right" - Brian Clough

To me it seems petty simple... the OAC teams that challenged themselves against quality competition got a good look at what they had in the tanks and how they might respond under pressure. The OAC teams that played softer teams ended up winning as they were supposed to do and they have gained a little confidence.

The old adage applies that it is notwhere you start... it is where you end and I imagine everyone started in a place they felt was important for their teams.

JCU struggled again today against Allegheny College, losing 3 to 0. I thought that the Gators deserved to win, but in some ways the score isn't an accurate picture of the game. JCU played them tough into the second half, but the second goal deflated them. JCU needs some goals. If they get that figured out they should be okay.

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"We talk about it for 20 minutes and then we decide I was right" - Brian Clough

It was an interesting week for the OAC. ONU got a result vs Carnegie Mellon even though they only had 2 shots for the game. BW went overtime and then fell to some quality competition. Otterbein played two sound teams and came away empty and the Crusaders had an easier weekend than their last one with two wins. The other teams had mixed results with mixed levels of competition. But, overall things seemed to just be your run of the mill early season results.

If things continue to progress as they are ONU seems to have the inside track to the regular season... but the Tournament championship is a long way from making any predictions.

Sweet relief! They (JCU) finally looked good. OWU may be having a down year, but they are always respectable so it was nice to see the Blue Streaks win it. They are still finding their legs, but it was a solid effort. Lots of close calls that if finished would probably have made the score more reflective of their effort. This weekend they meet up with Centre which will really be a stiff challenge for them.

My goodness, and how about Capital taking the win over Thomas More in double overtime? That is a quality program and I believe they were twenty-fourth in the D3 Soccer poll and 14th in NSCAA! Well Done Crusaders!!!!! Do you have any details on that?

Love this quote from the Capital Athletics Website: "Obviously we're excited to go on the road and beat the No. 1 team in the region and the No. 14 team in the country," Capital coach Chris Kouns said. "Not to take anything away from Thomas More, but we didn't play our most intelligent game. We have to stay a lot more composed when we play other teams of this caliber."

Don't know if that is accurate or just a good psychological move to keep the team focused, but it sounds like the Crusaders put the midwest on notice with that game!!!!

« Last Edit: September 12, 2013, 03:48:36 pm by woacfan »

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"We talk about it for 20 minutes and then we decide I was right" - Brian Clough